Crawfish Etouffee

Ever since we moved to Louisiana 6 months ago, I've made it my personal mission to eat as much crawfish as possible. I freaking LOVE crawfish. However, I've never actually had the opportunity to prepare a crawfish dish myself, out of a combination of intimidation and laziness. When I saw Emeril's recipe for etouffee, I decided to give it a try. A couple of things I discovered along the way:

1. It's pronounced "ay-two-fay." I was sternly corrected by the guys at the seafood shack.
2. 1lb of crawfish does not equal 1lb of crawfish tails (which is what the recipe calls for). First I experienced a "duh" moment and then a moment of panic when realized I had about a 1/3 of the crawfish tails I needed for the recipe. I panicked and sent Will back out to the seafood shack for more. This is what 1lb of crawfish tails look like. Good job, Marisa.

3. Because time was of the essence and crawfish tails take freaking forever to peel, I cheated. Will also picked up a pound of fresh jumbo shrimp, and I added that to the recipe. So technically, this is a crawfish AND shrimp etouffee.
4. I'm very proud of myself, because even though I'm normally squeamish about seafood, I had zero problems dealing with these little guys!

Source: Food Network

Ingredients:

• 1 stick butter
• 2 cups chopped onions
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1/2 cup chopped green bell peppers
• 1 pound peeled crawfish tails
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1 cup water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Pinch of cayenne
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
• 3 tablespoons chopped green onions

Directions:

2. In a large saute pan over medium high heat, melt the butter. Add the onions, celery, and bell peppers and saute until the vegetables are wilted, about 10 to 12 minutes.

2. Add the crawfish, garlic, and bay leaves and reduce the heat to medium.

3. Cook the crawfish for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4. Dissolve the flour in the water. Add to the crawfish mixture. Season with salt and cayenne. Stir until the mixture thickens, about 4 minutes.

5. Stir in the parsley and green onions and continue cooking for 2 minutes. Serve over steamed rice.